Brandon Hurst (August 30, 1866 in London, United Kingdom – July 15, 1947 in Hollywood, California, USA) was an English stage and film actor. He studied linguistics in his youth and began playing in theatre in 1880s. He was nearly fifty years old when he acted in his first film Via Wireless as Edward Pnickney in year 1915 and continued acting in the 129 other films until his death 1947. He became known in 1920s performing many notable film villain roles, such as the taunting Sir George Carew in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), the evil Jehan Frollo in the The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), the cuckold Alexei Karenin opposite Greta Garbo in Love (1927) which was based on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and jester Balkiphedro in the The Man Who Laughs (1928). He appeared also in talkies, but chiefly in minor parts. He died in 1947 at the age of 80 from arteriosclerosis.
John Sidney Blyth (February 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942), better known as John Barrymore, was an American actor of stage and screen. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III. His success continued with motion pictures in various genres in both the silent and sound eras. Barrymore's personal life has been the subject of much writing before and since his death in 1942. Today John Barrymore is known mostly for his portrayal of Hamlet and for his roles in movies like Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1920), Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Twentieth Century (1934), and Don Juan (1926), the first ever movie to use a Vitaphone soundtrack.
The most prominent member of a multi-generation theatrical dynasty, he was the brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, and was the paternal grandfather of Drew Barrymore.
Barrymore was born in the Philadelphia home of his maternal grandmother. His parents were Maurice Barrymore and Georgie Drew Barrymore. His maternal grandmother was Louisa Lane Drew (aka Mrs Drew), a prominent and well-respected 19th-century actress and theater manager, who instilled in him and his siblings the ways of acting and theatre life. His uncles were John Drew, Jr. and Sidney Drew.
Martha Mansfield (July 14, 1899 – November 30, 1923) was an American actress in silent films and vaudeville stage plays.
Born Martha Ehrlich in New York City to Maurice and Harriett Gibson Ehrlich. Although many biographies state that Mansfield was born in Mansfield, Ohio, her birth record and death certificate both have New York City as her place of birth. In 1912, she was left in her mother's care after her father deserted the family. At the age of 18, she showed an aptitude for acting and began a stage career. Her advancement as a performer came quickly. For a time she was a dancer performing with the Ziegfeld Follies.
Before she relocated to the west coast, Mansfield played leads in films produced by Famous Players-Lasky. Her first Hollywood movie was Civilian Clothes (1920) directed by Hugh Ford. She gained prominence as Millicent Carew (originally offered to Tallulah Bankhead) in the film adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which starred John Barrymore. She appeared with Eugene O'Brien in The Perfect Lover (1919). The final completed features in her short film career were Potash and Permutter and The Leavenworth Case, both from 1923.